The history of Central America knows several civilizations. But it was the Mayan culture that always attracted me. First of all, I was interested in how this civilization, which did not know either the wheel or iron, could reach such a level of development of the exact sciences, primarily mathematics and astronomy. What buildings did they leave behind? Therefore, when the opportunity for the next trip turned up, I did not hesitate to choose Mexico, the country where Chichen Itza, the iconic Mayan city, whose photos have become the hallmark of Central.
History of Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan city
The first question that interests every traveler who finds himself in this mysterious place is what ancient people built the city of Chichen Itza and when it happened. The city was founded in V-VI centuries by the Itza people, one of the tribes of the Maya civilization. At this time, a stage began in the history of Chichen Itza, which in the pre-Columbian era is identified with the Mayan period. The city was one of the most important cultural centers and flourished until the end of the 7th century, after which it fell into relative decline.
In the X century Chichen Itza conquered by the Toltec tribes and by the middle of the 11th century it became the capital of their state. In the XII century, as a result of a conflict with neighboring city-states, the city was seriously damaged, but after that it still exists and even develops for some time. At the end of the 13th century, for unknown reasons, the city fell into decay and was completely abandoned by people. At the time of the invasion of the Spanish conquerors in the XV-XVI centuries, Chichen Itza was already completely abandoned and partially in ruins.
Since the conquistadors showed no interest in the history of the local peoples, even tried to destroy the traces of their ancient civilizations, no one was interested in the abandoned city for a long time.
Only in the 19th century, on the wave of national liberation movements, as well as the increased interest in science, did the abandoned city attract attention. At first, he was interested in a few private researchers, adventurers and fans of the occult sciences. Then Chichen Itza began to attract tourists and artists. And only in the middle of the 20th century, the unique city became interested at the official level, and the Mexican government decided to partially restore the original appearance of Chichen Itza in order to attract tourists.
Main Attractions
When you are lucky enough to visit this mysterious city, pay attention to such sights:
Pyramid of Kukulkan in the city of Chichen Itza. A grand structure that had both ritual and astronomical significance. Dedicated to Kukulkan, a deity in the form of a feathered serpent with a human head, the patron of rain and wind. The pyramid is identified not only with Chichen Itza and, perhaps, with all the pre-Columbian civilizations of Central America.
It consists of nine steps, which are separated by stairs on each face of the pyramid, into two parts, which gives a pure 18 - the number of days in a month in the Mayan calendar. Each of the four stairs consists of 91 steps, i.e. in total 364, and in combination with the upper platform 365 - the number of days in a year. The faces of the pyramid are located strictly on the cardinal points, and each has 52 relief images, which corresponds to the number of years in the Mayan calendar cycle. At the foot of the northern staircase, a stone head of a snake is carved in such a way that the railing of the stairs is the snake's body.
On the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, an interesting effect is observed. The shadow from the edge of the pyramid falls on the railing of the stairs in such a way that the illusion of the movement of a giant snake is created. At the top of the pyramid is the sanctuary of Kukulkan itself.
Not so long ago, scientists discovered another, more ancient pyramid under the pyramid of Kukulkan. It also has nine tiers, and inside it was kept the main symbol of the Mayan rulers - a stone throne, known as the Jaguar Mat.
Climbing the pyramid has been banned since 2006., and the traveler is left to be content with close-up contemplation, which, believe me, is not so little.
Other attractions in Chichen Itza
- Mayan Temple in Chichen Itza. A structure located on a four-stage pyramid. The railing of the central staircase is crowned with stone human figures. At the top is the temple itself, at the entrance to which there are two columns in the form of snakes, images of Kukulkan. Near the temple there are four rows of columns with images of warriors.
- Observatory. A round dome mounted on a square platform. Interestingly, the windows are located in such a way that they correspond to the position of celestial bodies relative to the earth.
- Ball game field. A platform measuring 168x70 m, surrounded by a high (up to 8 m) wall. A stone ring was set high on the wall, into which the players had to throw a rubber ball. The foot of the walls is decorated with images of human sacrifices. Moreover, many researchers are inclined to believe that these are the players of the losing team.
- Temple of the Jaguar. It is located on the east side of the ball court. It got its name because of the many images of a jaguar on its facade. Perhaps from here the priests watched the ball game.
- Temple of the Bearded Man. Located north of the ball court. Inside the temple, a relief was found depicting a man with a beard, which was the reason for such a name.
- Sacred Cenote or Well of Death. A natural karst depression with a diameter of up to 60 m and a depth of up to 50 m. It served to dump the bodies of people who were sacrificed.
- Group of a thousand columns. Ruins of columns that form a giant rectangle.
- Pyramid Tomb of the High Priest. A ten-meter pyramid, on top of which there is a platform with tombstones. It may have served as a burial place for the nobility or spiritual leaders of the Maya, from where it got its name.
Mayan warrior temple
How to get there
You can get to the Chichen Itza complex:
- from Merida, the journey by bus will take less than two hours and will cost $12 (first class) or $6.5 (second class);
- from Cancun, by bus for 2.5 hours and $16 (first class) or $12 (second class);
The most mysterious places on Earth: Maya. Chichen Itza - video
How did the Maya manage to create such an advanced culture that they predicted for our civilization, and why do thousands of people seeking spiritual enlightenment lay siege to these ruins every year? Can modern rites unlock the secrets of Chichen Itza? You will learn about this by watching the video. Happy viewing!
- In 2007, the New Seven Wonders of the World competition was held, as a result of which the pyramids and the city of Chichen Itza itself in Mexico became the finalist of the project.
- UNESCO has recognized the Chichen Itza complex as an object of the material and cultural heritage of mankind.
Staying in the mysterious city of Chichen Itza leaves ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, you understand that you have touched a huge and not fully understood layer of history. On the other hand, the ubiquitous images and stories of guides about the human sacrifices that took place here are somewhat depressing.
Friends, what are your impressions of visiting this place? I look forward to your posts in the comments.
Continuing the theme of the pyramids, touched upon in a previous publication about Teotihuacan - the largest ancient city on the territory of America, one cannot ignore the no less famous Cheech complex e n-Itz a(emphasis on bold letters), located in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula.
How to get to Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is located just 200 km and two hours by car from the most popular Mexican resort of Cancun, so it is a kind of must-see attraction of the region, and it really is. An excellent toll highway has been laid to the complex, which allows you to quickly and comfortably get there even by car, even by bus.
The entire route marked on the map from point A (the center of the resort of Cancun) to Chichen Itza (point B) with a stop in Tulum (point C) and a return to Cancun takes 480 km and 6 hours by car, which makes it quite easy to put it in one day.
Driving in Mexico at first creates the illusion of permissiveness - an excellent toll road, there are few cars, why not put the pedal to the floor ?! However, be careful - traffic police in mexico is very corrupt and is aimed at extorting money, in the first place, from tourists. I recommend not to exceed the speed greatly in excess of the recommended one and be sure to read a story about my experience with the mexican police so that in case of something not to get on the money.
Basic facts about Chichen Itza
- Chichen Itza literally means "The Well of the Itza Tribe": a well refers to large natural wells-senods, where sacrifices were allegedly made, and “itsa” is one of the varieties of the Mayan tribes.
- The city is located in the jungle of Yucatan away from the sea coast. Researchers believe that the choice of location was due to the presence of huge natural wells that served as a source of drinking water.
- believed to be Chichen Itza was founded in 514. At the end of the 10th century, the warlike tribe of the Toltecs captured Chichen Itza (perhaps the capture took place peacefully, by agreement), and it was after the arrival of the Toltecs that the most impressive buildings of the complex that have survived to this day were built.
- in its heyday, by the XII century AD. Chichen Itza occupied an area of about 10 square kilometers, which was inhabited by up to 30,000 people.
- in 1178 Chichen Itza was captured united army of three Indian states. However, like Teotihuacan, the decline of the history of Chichen Itza turned out to be very fast: at the very peak of development: at the end of the 12th century, all the inhabitants suddenly left the city, after which it began to rapidly collapse. The Spanish conquistadors found only the ruins of the once largest city in the region.
- Chichen Itza remained abandoned until in 1843 traveler John Stevenson did not accidentally stumble upon it. In the 1920s, extensive restoration work was carried out, and soon the complex was opened to the general public.
This is the official version of the history of Chichen Itza, however, as I have repeatedly mentioned, these figures and facts should be treated very skeptically, for which there are a number of reasons:
- what we see now in Chichen Itza is the result of the hard work of a large number of restorers, who, of course, made a very beautiful picture, but left practically no chance to figure out in what form the Mayans first saw this city. The entrance to the pyramid is closed, and since 2006 it has become impossible to climb it.
- The “officially accepted” purpose of many of the surviving buildings raises many questions. So, in the sacrificial cenote, only about 100 bodies were found, and not young girls, but mostly children and men. The ball stadium strikes with proportions and stands out sharply from the whole row of buildings. It is simply impossible to observe anything in the starry sky from the so-called observatory. More details about this - below, in the section Walking around Chichen Itza.
- The dating of the structures is based on data from the Maya chronicles. Representatives of academic science willingly refer to this, but at the same time they forget to mention that the Mayan calendar does not make it possible to accurately date events. The Mayan calendar includes a so-called "short cycle" (52 years), within which each event is dated very accurately, and a "long cycle" (which covers a period of several million years). It is far from always possible to understand what kind of 52-year cycle we are talking about, especially when the annals tell about some events that are very remote in time. So it turns out that the year 520 or 1040 will be recorded in the annals in the same way, if the chronicler did not leave special references to the long cycle, which was done extremely rarely.
It is customary in the scientific literature to admire the knowledge and achievements of the Mayan civilization, ranging from an extremely accurate calendar to detailed astronomical knowledge, but there is no evidence that the Maya created this knowledge. Moreover, the artifacts of the Mayan civilization that have come down to us just make us doubt this. So, the Maya did not know the wheels - while their logic of their calendar is best illustrated precisely by three round gears of different diameters:
How the Mayan calendar works In one of the following publications, I will talk in detail about the oddities of the Mayan calendar, which, of course, deserve a separate analysis.
Temple of Kukulkan - the dominant of Chichen Itza
Entering the complex, you find yourself on one of several paths leading to the pyramid.
The entrance to the complex is marked with the letter E. There is also paid parking, which must be paid separately. We took advantage of the free parking, about 500-600 meters away from the entrance. Throughout Chichen Itza, along the paths, there are stalls of merchants with numerous souvenirs. Prices are reasonable, not too high compared to Cancun, but the abundance of stalls spoils and belittles the atmosphere of the place.
Soon the path leads you to an open area, in the middle of which rises the most famous pyramid of Chichen Itza - the Temple of the Feathered Serpent of Kukulcan (Castillo de Kukulcan), which is the absolute dominant of the complex. As I already said, it is strictly forbidden to climb the pyramid, which is monitored by numerous security guards of the complex.
Interesting facts about the Temple of Kukulkan:
- the pyramid is composed of 9 levels (steps), at its top is a sanctuary.
- the temple has four sides, on each of which a staircase leads to the top, each of which has 91 steps. In total, this gives 364 steps (4 * 91), which, in total with the platform at the top, gives 365 - the number of days in a year.
- as in Teutihuacan, the faces of the pyramid have a slight deviation from the current cardinal points, which indicates their "antediluvian" character (i.e. it can be said with certainty that the pyramid - or at least the ancient building on this site - was built before , as a result of a cataclysm about 13,000 years ago, the earth's poles shifted).
- The edges of the stairs are made in the shape of the head of the feathered serpent Kukulkan. All sites vying with each other write that on the days of the equinox an interesting effect is created due to the play of light - at sunrise it seems as if a snake is crawling along the pyramid. These days, Chichen Itza always sees an increased influx of tourists and locals who want to see this phenomenon. By the way, you can admire it a few days before or after the equinox (because the effect does not appear at once and does not disappear immediately).
I have personally watched some of the most popular videos depicting this moment, and I can say for sure that the event was sucked from the finger. Yes, the shadow is visible, but it is practically motionless. At the same time, the people around are like at a football match, so you can’t really see anything.
- The Maya built pyramids like nesting dolls - so, inside this pyramid there is an older one, the existence of which became known only at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, there are no open studies of this pyramid (supporters of alternative history believe that this is due to the impossibility of inscribing individual artifacts from this pyramid). ancient pyramid to the official version of history).
- at the top of the pyramid is a temple of the jaguar, inside which was found a wooden throne with the image of a jaguar with jade spots:
Wooden throne in the form of a red jaguar At the time of its discovery by Europeans in the 19th century, the temple of Kukulkan was a pile of stones and looked something like this:
Huge ball stadium
In addition to the temple of Kukulkan, towering over the area, the complex impresses with another building, unlike anything else. We are talking about, as it is called, a giant ball stadium. It differs from other stadiums and sports grounds by its truly gigantic size. It is almost impossible to imagine ordinary people of our size playing on it.
According to a common academic version, the goal of the game was to kick a ball stuffed with grass into this ring (see photo above).
The stadium was also badly damaged (see photo from the middle of the 19th century before restoration):
There are many legends around the ancient Mayan ball game, which differ only in one thing: who was beheaded - the winning team or the losing team. These scenes are depicted in multiple bas-reliefs surrounding the field.
Right next to the stadium was the Temple of the Jaguar, in which, according to Indian chronicles, a sacrifice was made after a ball game:
Temple of the Jaguar in the background Of course, it was not without the image of Kukulkan - the Feathered Serpent, who was the main deity of the Maya:
By the way, for me, Kukulkan is very reminiscent of the ancient Chinese dragon - but here the question immediately arises, what kind of connection could exist between South America and China in ancient times.
Other buildings
Among other buildings of Chichen Itza, the Temple of Warriors can also be distinguished:
On a set of columns there was a wooden roof.
We are in the role of the famous Asian monkeys: I see nothing, I hear nothing, I will not tell anyone anything Nearby is the so-called "place of a thousand columns", where there was trade under palm leaves (there was something like a market):
Group of a Thousand Columns at Chichen Itza Cenotes of Chichen Itza
Traveling to Chichen Itza brought a new word into my vocabulary - cenote. This is how huge natural wells are designated, in which groundwater from underground rivers accumulates. Cenotes on earth are quite rare, which is associated with the specifics of their formation in limestone earth rocks.
There are many such cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula. Two cenotes are located directly on the territory of the Chichen Itza complex, but there are several located a little further.
There is a widespread version according to which one of the cenotes was used by the ancient Maya for sacrifices. It is now called the Holy Synod. Here, allegedly, young virgins were dumped to appease the gods.
Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza However, a detailed study of the bottom of the cenote, undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century by the American archaeologist Edward Thompson, showed that this is nothing more than a beautiful myth for naive tourists. He managed to find only 50 bodies, of which most were men and children. Antiquity researcher Andrey Sklyarov put forward a version that these remains are in no way connected with sacrifices, but are only the result of accidents (for example, when children were sent to the well for water, and they fell off a cliff).
Most of the Yucatán cenotes are not as gloomy as this one, and some of them are even suitable for swimming. Usually tourists go to swim in Cenote Ik Kil, which is located 5 kilometers from Chichen Itza.
Bathing in Cenote Ik Kil The most convenient way to get to it is by car, using the navigator. You need to go towards the city of Valladolid, the lapel to the cenote itself will be indicated by a sign. The cost of swimming in the cenote is 70 pesos per person. We changed in the cars, although you can use the locker rooms on the territory of the complex. Young children are given vests for rent for an additional fee - they must be taken, because there are a lot of people in the cenote, and the depth is great.
By the way, according to one version, the rapid departure of the inhabitants of Chichen Itza is associated with a sharp drop in the water level in the cenotes, which served as the only source of drinking water.
Chichen Itza is open from 09:00 to 17:00. It is advisable to arrive in Chichen Itza early in the morning, before the city is flooded with tourist groups. The second option is to arrive in the evening, closer to closing. In both cases, there are more chances to take good photos and enjoy this place. There is also the option to stay for the evening show (held every day at 19:00 in spring and winter and 20:00 in summer), which costs 98 pesos per person.
If you arrive during rush hour, be prepared to stand 30-35 minutes for tickets at the box office. Of course, it is impossible to buy tickets online.
At the entrance to the Chichen Itza complex, you will be offered various additional services, and this will be done immediately after the exit from the toll road. Do not buy or pay for anything other than official tickets. An entrance ticket to Chichen Itza is bought at the box office right at the entrance to the complex and costs 204 pesos (for both adults and children).
The peso to ruble exchange rate in October 2018 was 3.5 rubles per 1 peso.
It takes 3-4 hours to explore and walk around the complex, of which 2-2.5 hours will be spent on viewing the central complex itself, and 1-1.5 hours for swimming in the nearby Cenote Ik Kil.
Over Chichen Itza, as well as in other places of archaeological sites in Mexico, flights of quadrocopters are strictly prohibited. Vigilant security makes sure that they are not carried through and turns violators towards the storage room.
By the way, we still launched a quadcopter over the pyramid, we just did it from the ring road. True, we lost our caution, flew very brazenly, descending low over the pyramid, and we were very quickly identified. If you want to launch the quadcopter there, do it from a secluded place (not in the middle of the road). in this case, the guards will quickly find you. We barely managed to avoid a fine, and the guard forced us to erase all the information from the camera.
I take this opportunity to say hello to him and send rays of gratitude to the authors of utilities that allow you to recover deleted files from flash cards:
The central pyramid of Chichen Itza, taken in the rays of the setting sun In general, Chichen Itza is definitely a must-see for all tourists coming to Cancun. The spirit of antiquity is felt here, despite the shopping malls throughout the complex and the lack of access to the most interesting parts of the pyramid.
In the next article I will tell about ancient city Tulum where we stopped on our way back from Chichen Itza to Cancun. Subscribe to blog updates so you don't miss new posts.
World interest in the heritage of the disappeared Maya civilization has not faded to this day. Numerous religious and cult mysteries, gloomy predictions, the most accurate calendars, gigantic ruined cities, among which the most famous is Chichen Itza, invariably attract crowds of tourists and curious people. The magical ancient ruins have been explored continuously for hundreds of years.
History of the ancient Mayan city - Chichen Itza
Based on archaeological data and fragments of ancient chronicles, the researchers concluded that the famous Mayan city was founded in the 5th-6th centuries AD. It immediately became the center of the Yucatan territory: political, religious, cultural.
All statements regarding Chichen Itza are not confirmed and are hypotheses requiring evidence that are almost impossible to find. According to some reports, from 20 to 30 thousand inhabitants permanently lived in the city. An uncountable number of pilgrims and wanderers, merchants and money changers visited this settlement every year.
In the 10th century, the Mayans were conquered by the Toltecs, Chichen Itza was partially plundered, and most of the population left the city. But life did not leave him. The decline falls on the 13th century from the birth of Christ. Buildings crumbled, people left Chichen Itza.
An ancient city in the modern world
For a long time, no one showed interest in the majestic and sinister ruins. From the middle of the 19th century, a fascination with culture, astrology, and most importantly, the legendary wealth of the Maya began. Numerous excavations and studies began on the territory, artists and photographers from all over the world came to capture the bizarre buildings and mysterious temples.
In the 1950s, the Mexican government decided to restore (as far as possible) the original appearance of Chichen Itza. Soon this place became a Mecca for tourists.
In 2007, the ancient city was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and named one of the 7 new wonders of the world.
Excursion around Chichen Itza
The area of the city is about 6 km. sq. The surviving architectural complexes are numerous and if you study them in detail, consider each relief and column, then one day for a visit will not be enough. Unfortunately, excursions organized from Cancun are only one-day. There is nowhere to spend the night in Chichen Itza, and it’s creepy.
A professional guide will lead the group along the paved roads, perfectly preserved over a dozen and a half centuries, and will tell you about all the religious buildings of the city. The most significant and huge of them is the pyramid of the Feathered Serpent - Kukulkan. The guide will tell legends about bloody sacrifices, cruelty and religious beliefs of the ancient tribe.
The Temple of Warriors will impress with the realism of the reliefs and sculptures; it is easy to get lost in the group of "thousand columns". The "ball court" will surprise you with the size of its territory and will give you goosebumps with images of severed heads.
The tour includes a visit to the sacred cenote - a natural reservoir with a diameter of 60 m. There is evidence that Maya girls and children were thrown into this "lake", as well as numerous cult objects, asking their deities for rain. The variety of impressions and the special energy of the place will not leave anyone indifferent!
Information for tourists
Chichen Itza coordinates: 20.6842849, -88.5677826.
Distances from cities: from Merida - 115 km; from Cancun - 200 km.
Open for visiting: daily from 8:00 to 17:00.
In addition to the most famous monuments of the Mayan civilization, Cancun is also interesting island of Cozumel, which is ideal for those who want to soak up the beaches or go diving and surfing.
